Jindal announces appointments to coastal protection council

The Governor’s Advisory Council on Coastal Protection, Restoration and Conservation serves to advise the governor on the status of Louisiana’s coastal protection and restoration program. Additionally, the council strives to foster cooperation between federal, state and local agencies, conservation organizations and the private sector relative to coastal protection and restoration activities.

According to the statute, the council is comprised of 36 members including the president of the Senate, the speaker of the House of Representatives, the chairs of the House and Senate Committees on Natural Resources, the chairs of the House and Senate Committees on Transportation, Highways and Public Works, or their designees. Also, two members serving on levee boards in districts located in the coastal zone are appointed by the Association of Levee Boards of Louisiana.

The remaining 28 members are gubernatorial appointments, including the following:

—Two members from the academic community;

—Two members from the business and industrial community;

—Two members from the nonprofit corporation community;

—Two members from the conservation community;

—Two members from the agricultural community;

—Two members from governing bodies of political subdivisions of the state;

—Two members from the energy production and distribution sector;

—Two members representing the fishing community, one must be from the commercial fishing industry and one must be from the recreational fishing community;

—One member from the oyster industry;

—Two members representing coastal landowners;

—Two members representing ports and related industries;

—One member representing the maritime industry; and

—Six members to be appointed at-large by the governor.

Jindal’s appointments are:

Gerald E. Galloway of College Park, M.D., is an engineering professor at the University of Maryland and a visiting scholar at the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Institute for Water Resources. Galloway will be reappointed to serve as a member of the academic community.

John Costonis of Baton Rouge is the chancellor emeritus at the LSU Paul M. Hebert Law Center. Costonis will be appointed to serve as a member of the academic community.

David Cresson of Baton Rouge is the executive director and CEO of the Coastal Conservation Association of Louisiana. Cresson will be reappointed to serve as a member of the commercial fishing industry.

Chris Macaluso of Baton Rouge is the coastal outreach coordinator for the Louisiana Wildlife Federation. In addition to his work with LWF, Macaluso also hosts a weekly hunting and fishing radio show on ESPN Radio. Macaluso will be appointed to serve as a member of the recreational fishing community.

Al Sunseri of New Orleans is the owner and general manager of P&J Oyster Company Inc. in New Orleans. He is the former president of the Louisiana Oyster Dealers and Growers Association. Sunseri will be reappointed to serve as a member from the oyster industry.

Stacy Methvin of Houston is the vice president of supply strategy and portfolio for Shell Chemical LP, a petrochemical production and distribution company, and serves on the Society of Chemical Industry Board. Methvin will be reappointed to serve as a member from the energy production and distribution sector.

Ronald Gonsoulin of New Iberia is the president of Ulysse Gonsoulin & Son Inc., a sugar cane, soybean, and wheat farm, and a veteran of the National Guard. Gonsoulin will be reappointed to serve as a member of the agricultural community.

Linda Zaunbrecher of Gueydan is a rice farmer and the former president of the Louisiana Rice Growers Association. Zaunbrecher is the third vice-president of the Louisiana Farm Bureau Federation and also serves on the Rice Research Board. Zaunbrecher will be reappointed to serve as a member of the agricultural community.

Jim Tripp of New York City is the general counsel for the Environmental Defense Fund and a member of the Coalition to Restore Coastal Louisiana. Tripp will be reappointed to serve as a member of the nonprofit corporation community.

Ted Falgout of Galliano is the executive director of the Port of Fourchon in Lafourche Parish and will be reappointed to represent the ports and their related industries.

Channing Hayden of Lake Charles is the director of navigation and security for the Port of Lake Charles. Hayden will be reappointed to represent the ports and their related industries.

Mark Piazza of Abbeville is the mayor of Abbeville. Piazza will be reappointed to represent governing bodies of political subdivisions of the state.

R. King Milling of New Orleans is the director of Hancock Holding Company and past president of Whitney Bank in New Orleans. He is also the chairman of the board of the America’s WETLAND’s Foundation. Milling will be reappointed to represent the business and industrial community.

Tim Creswell of Abbeville is the assistant director of the Vermilion Parish Office of Homeland Security and Emergency Preparedness. Creswell will be appointed to serve as a representative of governing bodies of political subdivisions of the state.

Jody Montelaro of Baton Rouge is the senior governmental affairs executive for Entergy. Montelaro will be appointed to serve as a representative of the energy production and distribution sector.

Karen Gautreaux of Baton Rouge is the director of government relations for the Louisiana Chapter of the Nature Conservancy. Gautreaux will be appointed to serve as an at-large member of the council.

Michel Claudet of Houma is the president of Terrebonne Parish. Claudet will be appointed to serve as an at-large member of the council.

Telley Madina of New Orleans is a coastal communities program officer with Oxfam America, and the former executive director of the Louisiana Oystermen Association. Madina will be appointed to serve as an at-large member of the council.

Robert “Bob” Stewart of Lafayette is retired and was the director of the USGS National Wetlands Research Center in Lafayette for 25 years; he also served as the vice president for research at the University of Louisiana at Lafayette until the summer of 2010. He now serves as the assistant to the president for special research projects. Stewart will be reappointed to serve as an at-large member of the council.

John Williams of New Orleans is a principal architect at John Williams Architects. Williams will be reappointed to serve as an at-large member of the council.

Charles E. Allen III of New Orleans is the chairman of the board of Holy Cross Neighborhood Association. Allen will be reappointed to serve as a member of the nonprofit corporation community.

Dwayne Bourgeois of Raceland is the executive director of the North Lafourche Conservation, Levee & Drainage District. Bourgeois will be appointed to serve as a representative of the ports and related industries.

Tanner Johnson of Baton Rouge is the director of donor services for the Baton Rouge Area Foundation. Johnson will be appointed to serve as an at-large member of the council.

Alan Front of San Francisco is the senior vice president for federal affairs and public policy with The Trust for Public Land, a national non-profit land conservation organization. Front will be reappointed to serve as a member of the conservation community.

William Rudolf of Metairie is the CEO and president of the Biloxi Marsh Lands Corporation, a land management company. Rudolf will be reappointed to serve as a representative of coastal landowners.